1. Technical Field
This invention relates to people moving devices in general, and to floorplate support systems for people moving devices in particular.
2. Background Art
Escalators, moving walkways, and other people moving devices efficiently move a large volume of pedestrian traffic from one point to another. At each end of the device, landing areas provide access to moving steps (or belts, or pallets) traveling at a constant rate of speed. The landing areas typically include floorplates and a combplate. The floorplates cover a structural frame which, in the landing, houses mechanical equipment for actuating the moving steps. The combplate is an intermediary surface between the stationary floor plates and the moving steps.
The structural frame comprises a left and a right truss connected by structural members extending therebetween. By convention, the side of the escalator on the left of a person facing the escalator at the lower elevation is called the left hand side of the escalator, and the side to the person's right is called the right hand side. Each truss section has two end sections parallel to one another, connected by an inclined midsection. The end sections form the landings at each end of the midsection.
It is known in the art that the floorplates may be positioned and supported off of the frame by a plurality of brackets and commercially available structural steel having an "L" shaped cross-section, also known as "angle iron". Sections of angle iron are cut and assembled into a floorplate frame which is then attached to the brackets. After the floorplate frame is attached to the brackets, the floorplates are placed within the frame and conventionally attached.
A person of skill in the art will recognize that the "quietness" of a people moving device is perceived as an indicia of the quality of the machine. A problem with the aforementioned floorplate frame arrangement is that it permits vibrations, and therefore noise, to propagate from the device frame to the floorplates via the floorplate frame.
A further disadvantage of floorplate frame fabricated from structural steel is that the angle iron must typically be altered to permit the frame to be attached to the brackets that support the floorplate frame.